Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The following interview is an excerpt from Her Loving Husband’s Return, Book Three of the Loving Husband Trilogy. Being interviewed is Geoffrey, the vampire
“maker” of James Wentworth. In Her Loving
Husband’s Return we learn that Geoffrey and James have a closer
relationship than anyone expected.

For the record,
please state your full name with your place and date of birth.

I was born the First of December in the Year of Our Lord 1600 in
London, England, United Kingdom. Great Britain, if you prefer.

And your full name?

My name?

Yes, sir, your name.

I am Geoffrey.

Geoffrey…?

Geoffrey.

And your surname?

I haven’t bothered with one of those for centuries.

Mister Geoffrey, you must
have a last name.

No last name. You know…Elvis. Oprah. God. Geoffrey.

Very well, Mister
Geoffrey. Marital status?

My Rebecca died on the Second of September in the Year of Our Lord
1666. She was among the few to die in the flames of the Great Fire of London.

I’m sorry to hear
that.

It was rather dreadful. The fire began at one o’clock in the
morning, they said in the bakeshop of Thomas Fraynor, baker to none other than
His Royal Highness King Charles the Second. Houses in London then were wood and
pitch, and it was only moments until the flames spread throughout the city. I
was long turned by then, but I kept track of my wife throughout the years. I
wasn’t in London the night of the fire, and I still live with the guilt. If I
were there I might have been able to save her.

Where were you?

Roaming about the countryside. There is nowhere in the world more
beautiful than the English countryside.

Did she know you as
you are now?

Never. I didn’t have the heart for her to see me as I am. They had
a penchant for burning witches in those days. I didn’t want to find out what
they might do to one of our kind or their loved ones. They might have rounded
us up and penned us like cattle. Oh no, wait. That’s you.

(Cough.) You never
remarried?

Never. There will never be anyone like my Becky again.

Any children?

A daughter. And one son.

Where are they?

My daughter died in 1677. My son died in 1694 or thereabouts. He
was a smart boy. Took after his father, of course. Had a great mind for
business. Became quite wealthy in his day.

He was human?

Of course.

Any other relatives?

(Pause.) No, no. Not really.

Not really?

If I did have any relatives, I don’t think he’d be too thrilled
about it.

Because you’re a
vampire?

Because I haven’t been the greatest relative in the world. But
there it is. We can only do what we think is best at the time and try to make
amends afterwards.

It sounds like you
have some unfinished business.

Quite.

Have you reached out
to him?

What is this, a television chat show? Fix the vampire’s
relationship with his family?

You looked sad,
Mister Geoffrey. I was only trying to help.

I see.

We’re trying to
discover where vampires are getting their blood from. Where does your blood
come from?

From willing donors.

Are you certain
they’re willing?

Of course. I’m a vampire, not a monster.

Have you ever turned
anyone into a vampire?

Why? What have you heard?

What do you think
we’ve heard?

I asked you first.

Let me try that
again. Have you ever turned anyone into a vampire?

(Pause.) No. Absolutely not. Never. Nada.

Are you certain?

Of course. I get my blood from willing donors, and I’ve never
turned anyone into a vampire, not even anyone I found out I should have left
alone afterwards. Not even anyone I might have been related to. Are we through
here? I’m finding this conversation rather boring.

(Pen scratching on
paper.) I’m sorry to bore you, Mister Geoffrey. We’ll call you back in a night
or two.

Why would you need me again?

We need your full
name. I’ll give you a couple of nights to remember since it’s been so long.

I’m not sure I can remember something like my name. I’m rather old
you see. We old-timers don’t have the greatest memory in the world. I’m four
hundred and twelve years old. I’m lucky I remember to put my pants on in the
morning, and that’s pants in the traditional British sense, mind you. When we
say pants we’re referring to what you Americans call underwear. When you
Americans say pants you mean trousers, which is silly.

(Laughs.) I’ll keep
that in mind, Mister Geoffrey. I’m sure you’ll do your best to remember your
last name.

What is Geoffrey’s last name? And what will happen to his vampling
James now that the vampires have been rounded up? Will James and his beloved
wife Sarah be reunited after all? Find the answers in Her Loving Husband’s Return, Book Three of the Loving Husband Trilogy.

Her Loving Husband’s Return

Book Three

The Loving Husband Trilogy

Meredith Allard

Genre: paranormal/historical

Publisher: Copperfield Press

Date of Publication: 4/19/13

ISBN: 9781301084036

ASIN: B00CFA0RJW

Number of pages: 276

Word Count: 86,500

Book Description:

What would you do to return to the only one you have ever loved?

James Wentworth’s secret is no longer a secret, and now he and his beloved wife, Sarah, have been separated.

While suffering his own internment, James is reminded of his time with Japanese-Americans in the Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II, and he cannot allow the past to repeat itself. With the help of his friends—Chandresh, Jocelyn, Timothy, even the irreverent Geoffrey—James learns what it means to return, and he is determined to return to his Sarah no matter the challenges—or the consequences.

Will James and Sarah be reunited once and for all despite the madness surrounding them? Will James’s most fervent wish be granted? The changes in store for the Wentworths may be irreversible.

Finally, after many long and lonely years, James Wentworth’s life is falling into place. Together with his wife, Sarah, the only woman he has ever loved, he has found the meaning behind her nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and now they are rebuilding the life they began together so long ago.

But the past is never far behind for the Wentworths. While Sarah is haunted by new visions, now about the baby she carried over three hundred years before, James is confronted with painful memories from his time with the Cherokee on the Trail of Tears. Through it all, the persistent reporter Kenneth Hempel reappears, still determined to prove that the undead walk the earth. If Hempel succeeds in his quest, James and Sarah will suffer. Will the curse of the vampire prevent James and Sarah from living their happily ever after?

Her Dear and Loving HusbandBook One of The Loving Husband Trilogy
By Meredith Allard
Published by Copperfield Press

Genre: Vampire RomanceBook Description:How long would you wait for the one you loved?James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties anywhere. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on.Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?Her Dear & Loving Husband is part historical fiction, part romance, and part paranormal fantasy. With elements of Twilight and The Crucible, Her Dear & Loving Husband is a story for anyone who believes that true love never dies.

Since 2000, Meredith Allard has been the Executive Editor of The Copperfield Review, an award-winning literary journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from California State University, Northridge, and she has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction seminars at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las Vegas Writers Conference.

Her short fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The Paumanok Review, Moondance, Wild Mind, Muse Apprentice Guild, Writers Weekly, CarbLite, and ViewsHound. She is the author of the Amazon Best-Selling Loving Husband Trilogy, as well as the historical novels Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother’s Battle.

Victory Garden and Woman of Stones have also been Amazon Best-Sellers in the Historical Fiction and Religious Fiction categories.

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